Haymarket riot - recognize and recall

Historian James Green's book Death in the Haymarket explores the tensions that led to the explosion and the panic that followed.

· Chicago's 1886 Haymarket riot had a major impact on the labor movement in America. Debbie Elliott interviews James Green, author of the book Death in the ...

But why do workers want unions in the first place, and why do business owners resist them so mightily? Workers originally want unions primarily for defensive purposes -- to protect against what they see as arbitrary decisions, such as sudden wage cuts, lay-offs, or firings. They also want a way to force management to change what they see as dangerous working conditions or overly long hours. More generally, they want more certainty, which eventually means a contract that lasts for a specified period of time. In the United States, as we will see, the early trade unionists also wanted the same kind of rights at work that they already had as independent citizens. And if unions grow strong, then, well, they try to go on the offensive, by asking for higher wages.